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Friday, March 11, 2011

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!! The Brooklyn Bowl took the term “Fat Tuesday” literally as it was busting at the seams last night. Week two of Bowlive, Soulive’s 10-day residency at The Brooklyn Bowl, kicked off what is expected to be another week of wonderful musical collaborations that will span multiple musical genres.

Last night, John Scofield and Ivan Neville joined the stage with Soulive to deliver their audience a high-energy Mardi Gras throwdown. The Nigel Hall Band opened the night with a slow vibing set. Songs like “Too Sweet” and “I Do Love You” fed the audience a constant vein of soul, vamping us to get ready for what was in store. Guitarist’s Adam Smirnoff and special guest John Scofield joined the set for “Never Know” and “Leave Me Alone,” respectively. Once these two hit the stage, the funk was in overdrive. They ended the set with their jamming Tear for Fears Cover “Everyone Wants to Rule the World,” a cover they have been perfecting over the past year.

Set List: Too Sweet, I Do Love You, Never Know, Leave Me Alone, Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Soulive entered the stage with big smiles and bright beads. After spending time engaging the audience in banter and tossing beads to eager hands, they kicked off their set with old-school favorites such as “Hat Trick” and “Turn It Out.” The crowd filled-in the lyrics as they played The Beatles “In My Life.” Saxophonist Ryan Zoidis was front and center for “Cannonball” and lit up the stage with this stellar groove. The highlight of the set was when special guest John Scofield joined the jazz-funk trio for two of Scofield’s jamming cover’s, “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” and “Hottentot.”

The Shady Horns, trumpeter Igmar Thomas and saxophonists’ James Casey and Ryan Zoidis constantly reminded us that they were there, holding it together, as they inserted the funk where it was needed.

Infused with New Orleans flare, the second set brought the entire crew back out on stage. This time John Scofield wasn’t alone as special guest, New Orleans keyboardist Ivan Neville, sat down at the Hammond organ. It was a Mardi Gras explosion as the musicians on stage played through themed favorites. During “Big Chief,” Eric Krasno and John Scofield trading amazing licks practically standing on top of each other and James Casey ripped a killer solo during “Just Kissed My Baby.” It was a full-on jam session on stage at this point. Alecia Chakour came out to sing “World Goes Round in Circles”. Ivan Neville laid out an organ-heavy “Aiko, Aiko” that had everyone dancing and pumping their fists.

Throughout the set, The Shady Horns, Eric Krasno and others danced around the stage tossing beads to the audience as the audience playfully threw them back. The smiles were wide and the energy was full-on for the first night of week two. We didn’t expect anything less…